Guest Post: Good News About Baton Rouge And Mayor's Election

The following is a guest post by a friend of PLF. It is a personal opinion and does not represent the opinion of Put Louisiana First or its sponsors. Please go to our Facebook page to share your thoughts so Baton Rouge residents can be heard.

Please excuse me, but I must interrupt the constant bad news, with some good news. If that gets me cancelled then so be it. After the good news, we will get down to business.

Real talk: A lot of the places we have been told should be our "model" and what we should copy are doing much worse than Baton Rouge. My family resides in unincorporated East Baton Rouge Parish. I spend much of my time on essential business outside of Baton Rouge, all over America. Right now, there isn't an area with the population of Baton Rouge that I've been in that I'd feel better about my family living in right now. The credit goes to the wonderful people of Baton Rouge and a little to some of our political leadership who have kept politics our of their response to COVID-19 and protests.

I am pleased to say "protests" and not riots. Unlike the cities that supposedly were so superior to Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge has not seen the riots that I have personally seen in Austin, Dallas, Houston, not to mention the total chaos elsewhere. Let's congratulate some great area parents and houses of faith for building some great local residents.

Now for some business: Just over 5 years ago I wrote a piece for the Hayride begging the "movers and shakers" in Baton Rouge to respond to the initial defeat of the St. George effort to intelligently and inovatively spend as much effort as they did in that battle to secure effective leadership for Baton Rouge. A link to that 2015 request is included at the end of this piece. In 2016, I personally met with many of these "movers and shakers" to ask them to support innovative leadership. Unfortunately they fell into the same practices as they have for several election cycles, and the result was a election between the assumed front runner among Democrats and a no chance campaign on the Republican side that then converted itself to the pro St. George movement in the recent referendum. Large sums were spent and one PAC was even tied to a convicted felon.

In politics I often find myself talking to folks much smarter and more accomplished than me.Many of them actually have selfless intentions. As a capitalist who admires success I often use "Sir" or "Mam" in addressing them. Successful folks have earned the right to do what they see fit with their hard earned resources and influence, but I am begging them one last time not to repeat the practices of the past and expect any different results.

We have 8 candidates for East Baton Rouge Mayor President, including the incumbent. I implore you once more, Mr. and Ms. Baton Rouge Mover and Shaker, for you to request a resume from each candidate as a first step, interview those with a qualified resume, and then consider putting self-interest aside and reaching out to work together with smart folks like yourself to support an effort to get the message out for the best leader for Baton Rouge. That leader needs the following characteristics:

Able to win the election, as we will see no results from a moral victory.

Able to support and lead effective and professional law enforcement for the safety of all citizens.

Able to bring the untapped energy of unifying the vast majority of all Baton Rouge residents, regardless of party, who want freedom from crime, safety, and the opportunity of a strong school system and business community. This majority is desperately waiting for someone to stand and speak for them.

Mr. and Ms. Mover and Shaker, you have a great opportunity to do this. Many of you reading this have done so much for this community and your legacy is now at stake. Step up to the plate and do not fail by falling into the same old patterns that have given us the problems we face. As a political mover and shaker in Baton Rouge, your success has earned you the right to do what you please, but to repeat the past and expect different results will be costly for us all.

Here is the link to my 2015 post:https://thehayride.com/2015/07/mathis-st-george-is-leaving/?fbclid=IwAR0b_qoxA23SXJ2m2rCPcsc2IhZgZEaIktXHloH3bo6uKtC7Khf4L_n0YKg

John Mathis
Your Baton Rouge Neighbor